When I first read the headline from MSNBC, China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation, I shook my head in disbelief. Well disbelief because I don’t believe in Buddhism, and also China’s law bans Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. Now why the hell would China pass a law controlling reincarnation. It seems absurd and trite at first, but when you think about the law, it boils down to control.
The Dalai Lama has been Tibet’s banned spiritual leader, and at the age of 72, he will soon be departing to reincarnate into someone else. If he happens to reincarnate in Tibet without China’s permission, he’s SOL. That Chinese government is one tricky SOB.
Assuming he’s able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks.
